Brake attachment



March 6, 1951 B. LIPNICKI ET Al. 2,544,462

BRAKE ATTACHMENT Filed Dc. 18, 1947 Patented Mar. 6, 1951 vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Bernard Lipnicki ana-Romuald Lipnicki,

Newington, Conn.

Application December 18, 1947, Serial No. 792,490

...1 Claim. l

This invention relates to a snow or ice brake for vehicles.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved brake for attachment to a vehicle which includes a pair of brake shoes adapted to be swung downwardly from a normally inoperative position to a lower operative or road engagingposition for dragging on a snowy or icy surface so as to thereby` stop the vehicle and to hold the vehicle against skidding.

Another object of this invention is to provide a. device of this kind which can belr'eadily attached to the present parts of the vehicle and will not affect the use and operation of the conventional wheel brake.

To the foregoing objects, and others which may hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts,. as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes, variations, and modifications may be resorted to whichv fall within the scope of the invention as claimed. Y

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan View, partly in horizontal section, of a brake structure constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detailed rear elevation of one of the brake shoes.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates generally a shaft which is adapted to be positioned beneath a vehicle in a horizontal position and the shaft I0 is adapted to be supported beneath the vehicle byineans of a pair of hangers I I which are adapted to be secured in any suitable manner to the under side of the vehicleframe structure. The shaft Ill has rockably mounted thereon adjacent the opposite ends thereof a pair of brake shoes, generally designated as I4. These shoes I4 include an L-shaped body I5 which has secured thereto a plurality of brake pins I6. The body I5 is adapted to be mounted withkon'e side I'I thereof extending parallel with the 4length of the vehicle and the other side I8 thereof-'extending transversely or inwardly.

The body I5 is secured at an acute angle to an arm I9 which has a bushing 20 on its upper end and the bushing 20 is loosely mounted on the shaft I0. The shoes I4 are connected together by a bar 2| and a spring 22 is connected between tending equalizing `bar 29. The bar 29 at a point v mid-way between the ends thereof is connected by means of a link or connecting member 30 to -the pedal 25.

A spring 3| is connected at its forward end to the bar 29 and is connected at its rear end to a fixed member 32 which is here shown as being secured to a horizontally disposed plate 33 which is dependingly carried by a pair of depending bars 34. The bars 34 are adapted to be secured in any suitable manner to a fixed portion of the under side of the vehicle. Each nexible member 21 engages between a pair of pulleys 28 which are carried by depending hangers 23 which are fixed to the vehicle.

In the use and operation of this device the brake structure is mounted by means of the hangers I I and the bushings 20 beneath the `chassis of the vehicle and the shaft III may be disposed either forwardly or rearwardly of the rear wheels of the vehicle. The pedal or operating member 25 is disposed at the forward portion of the vehicle, projecting through the floor boards in a position where it may be conveniently operated.

When the vehicle is travelling over snow or ice and the normal braking means for the wheels is ineffective, the pedal 25 may be rocked forwardly thereby swinging the brake shoes I4 downwardly to a position engaging the ground surface. Where the vehicle is moving' over ice or the like and the wheels cannot be stopped by the normal braking means, the shoes I4 will provide an effective means engageable with the ice for maintaining the vehicle against skidding and for stopping the vehicle.

We claim:

A snow or ice brake attachment for vehicles comprising a shaft." `hanger means supporting said shaft beneath ag vehicle, a pair of L-shaped brake shoes disposed with one side thereof parallel with the length of the vehicle and the other side thereof extending inwardly a plurality of brake pins depending from said inwardly extending arms, an arm fixed to each brake shoe and rockably engaging said shaft adjacent the BERNARD LIPNICKI. ROMUALD 4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,503,522 Taylor Aug. 5, 1924 .1,590,329 Stefanick June :29, 1926 1,876,286 Gardello Sept. 6, 1932 1,909,609 Carlson May 16, 1933 2,049,357 Daignaut July 28, 1936 12,147,451 Messina Feb. 14, 1939 2,282,202 Nichol May 5, 1942 '12,319,297 `Cieri May 18, 1943 

